Safe Motorway Aire?

when crossing thru the tunnel [usually early hours] we have always pulled in at cite europe and parked up till daylight before moving on. this year. if i am not feeling tired. i might just get on the A16 and head south for a hour or so towards abbeyville etc. i have always heeded the advice that stopping on motorway aires is not recommended but i have heard the aire at BAIE DE SOMME mentioned a few times and i wondered if any of you had used it ?. ive looked it up on google earth and it looks quite large and perfectly positioned for a early hours stopover with the parking up area well away from the fuel station . regards garry

There are loads of normal aires everywhere, no need to stay on the motorway ones or for that matter , no need to be on motorways at all, get the park4night app on your phone or tablet and it will tell you your nearest one , wherever you are

I have stopped and overnighted on motorway service stations and aires quite often for over thirty years, with only one, very, very minor incident.

JJ

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Well so have we but wouldn't recommend it for anyone else after reading posts on here, and we have been on BAIE DE SOMME a few times but not overnight and always thought it is a nice area and services.

Baie De Somme... Used it maybe a dozen times..
In summer the lower caravan / motorhome parking area is usually busy with plently of vans around and I have seen the police ride around at night.
In winter it's very isolated down there so we used to park up the top near the main building..
Personally we have never had an issue and I would use it again if that suited my timing. I know some have had issues.
Cite Europe has the same reputation, lots of people stop (me included) and never have a problem, others post they had an issue and post never to use it...

Depending on time of year and crossing on the evening, you may find other aires already full.
Maybe stick with Cite Europe and what you know, It's only an hour you are trying to gain after all.

ok guys thanks for your replies, i think the best thing to do will be to make my own mind up on the night.i think we should end this thread now before it turns into a motorway aire /gassing debate, which none of us want to hear about again ESPECIALLY ME !! cheers garry

When we cross late or at night we head for the Aire at Boulogne easy to get to and safe at 5.20 euros it's worth it, or you could also stay at the Aire by the port and casino which is free, we would never consider stopping on any motorway Aire.
Be wise Stay Safe
I have both coordinates you are interested.
Regards
Ray

You are probably right Jim not all are the same, there’s always been persons in every country that will take advantage of holiday makers, however there are a lot of desperate people all across Europe at the moment that will use what ever means they can to get there hands on your hard earned, just to see them self’s through.

We have had lots of fun and great holidays all over the last 11 years with our MH and never had any problems thank god, we just take the view that wherever we stop for the night that if it doesn’t feel right we just move on to the next place.

Like most motorhomes that have been traveling around Europe for a few years we have built up a list of over night stops that we use.

Europe is a big place and the choice is yours but wherever you stop stay safe so you can enjoy your next trip.

ok guys thanks for your replies, i think the best thing to do will be to make my own mind up on the night.i think we should end this thread now before it turns into a motorway aire /gassingdebate, which none of us want to hear about again ESPECIALLY ME !! cheers garry

Another vote for Boulogne (50.732418, 1.668253) we used it when we first got our MH but then we joined here and saw that Citie Europe was the place to stop, so we used it for the tunnel in both direction. This year with all the reports of troubles at Calais we decided to give Calais a miss and use Boulogne again. Even earlier this month it was not full and anyone could have found a space at anytime. We used the Auchan supermarket at Boulogne-st-Martin (50.732418, 1.668253) for fuel and essential supplies.